rodshaw
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The contemporary state of affairs and overall scenario you refer to are a direct result of class monopoly. Either you are part of the rich elite who own and control, or you are part of the vast majority who don't. This is the reality that pervades just about all aspects of our everyday lives. The "class struggle" encompasses the conflicts which arise through this basic division – to put it crudely, the haves versus the have-nots.The solution is not to chip away piecemeal at the inequalities this class division engenders, and then move on the next "good cause", in the belief that this is practical socialism. At best, all such activity can do is to slow the encroachments of capitalism onto our living standards. It generally fails miserably. As do attempts to foster love, peace and other things which matter without seeing the broader picture.Socialism should certainly not be limited to thoretical discussion. But because the number of real socialists in the world is at present tiny, the practical things to be doing all concern education and propaganda with the aim of spreading socialist ideas.
Looks as if the poor bloke in the photo you posted could do with a few of the material comforts of life you seem to be decrying.I think you are confusing materialism with commercialism, the world of the market and the brand, where side by side with the message "look at all these nice goodies" is the message "can't pay, can't have".We don't need a system to curb materialism. We need to abolish the class division which allows a small minority to own and control the world's wealth to the exclusion of the majority. The world's resources need to be held in common. Then there will be no rich, no poor and nobody worshipping the brand.
I don't see how any materialist can disagree that ideas, just like emotions, are part of the material world. That surely is for religionists. Ideas arise from the interaction of our brain cells in unison with the rest of our body and with the outside world. Leastways there is no evidence to the contrary. How on earth else do we get them? I'm not sure Marx or Engels said anything different. But no doubt somebody can throw lots of quotes at me.Whether we're satisfied with pies or crave a bit of posh cordon bleu, we still need a brain, and something physical going on in it, in the form of an idea or two, to perceive our hunger. Or the beauty of a sausage.So calm it down, boys.
To me, "World In Common" sums us up best. Or "The World for the Workers", which we use already. They also beg a lot of questions of course – but we're good at answering those, when anybody bothers to ask.We may get a certain way by pushing well-chosen epithets or slogans (not that we have so far) but the real answer is education, and unfortunately that's a slog. There are at least now a lot of groups and individuals groping in the right direction. One day it will build up to a "sea-change" in ideas and that's what we need to tap into.Having said that, it's catchphrases and slogans that stick in people's minds, and there's something to be said for simply ramming assertions into people's brains in an attempt to dislodge what's already there. At least now we have a bit of dosh. To suggest a brutalist approach, we could always try splashing out on a capitalist-style ad campaign to get our Big Words out there – in newspapers or on large hoardings or electronic screens like, say, the one in Manchester Piccadilly Gardens – but I suspect we don't have anywhere near enough money for that kind of thing, even if we could get away with it. And I'm sure it's been suggested several times before.I also like the idea of more short, well-produced Youtube videos. But they should pack a punch; we should consider using actors – there must be plenty of out-of-work thespians whose fee demands we could meet. They might even spread the word for us.
"World-Community-Wealth" sounds like the kind of thing an advertising agency might dream up for a major bank.It's all a question of definition. People outside the party would understand many different things by the word socialism, depending on who you ask. Our definition is now a minority one but it's still the best label there is for what we stand for and we should continue to push it.We have a whole baggage of terms we have a unique meaning for. It would be a bit tricky to ditch them all. “Working class” immediately comes to mind. How many people outside the WSM think there's no middle class? “Class struggle” – sounds pretty pompous. “Wage slave” – does that really include managers on £50k a year?Some terms, which have variously been suggested from time to time as substitutions for the party name, are equally dubious.“Free Access” – freedom for immigrants to enter the country? No government secrets? No charge for using an ATM? “World Without Money” – everyone to share poverty, or maybe a comment on the state of the majority? And so on.
steve colborn wrote:Why have you been sent email notifications? Did you tick the, "Notify me when new comments are posted" box? If so, them I,m afraid it was self-inflicted. There are those who still have wish things to be explained on this thread. If you personally, find the discussion boring, then don't read the thread, simples : )Yes, I did (or rather, I left the option ticked), but that seems like a long time ago now. And the title alone of the notification emails you get doesn't give you a clue as to which topic they are for. So if I delete them in bulk without at least glancing at them I may delete something for a topic I want notifying about.
steve colborn wrote:I find your comment above, very uncomradely. Others do not share your opinion, thankfully!Oops – I didn't have you in mind Steve, nor Vin. And of course the subject matter of the thread is serious. I should probably have kept my electronic trap shut.But an unsubscribe or unfollow feature for when you're fed up of getting the notifications for a specific thread would be useful.
I certainly do hope this topic wraps up. I made an early contribution to it and ever since I've been bombarded with email notifications. It's got really boring.
Ok thanks – with a bit of luck, the thread in question will be locked soon anyway as one of the mods has commented.
I have the same problem. I want to stop receiving emails when a new message is posted to the 'Why would membership of the SPGB be refused' topic because it's got really boring and is going round in circles. I get the messages because I made an early contribution to the topic.I've unchecked the box to receive these notifications in my account settings but I'm still getting them.Can they be stopped? Or do I have to post to the topic again and uncheck the notification box at that time?
